Bhubaneswar, Feb. 18: Scholars from various research institutions and universities of the state today took to the streets demanding immediate hike in scholarship and fellowship stipends.

Students from institutes, including the National Institute of Science Education and Research, Institute of Life Sciences, Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Institute of Physics and the Central Road Research Institute took out a peaceful protest outside the Assembly.

They alleged that even as expenses had spiralled over the years, they got paid a pittance. The researchers demand nearly 55 per cent hike in their stipend and payment of arrears. The stipend amount was increased last in 2010.

The gathering was part of a pan-India agitation by the research scholars to put pressure on the government to hike their scholarship fees.

At present, junior research fellows (those in the first two years of PhD) are paid Rs 16,000 every month, while their seniors (last three years of PhD) are paid Rs 18,000. However, the Centre had in October 2014, promised Rs 25,000 and Rs 28,000, respectively.

The students rued that despite the announcement made by the Centre, no official notification has been published. They blamed the lack of co-ordination and parity among the funding agencies for the situation.

"It has been more than four months and not even one agency that grants stipends have notified or implemented it. While some like the UGC have notified, no further steps have been taken," said research scholar Tapan Das.

The protesters also complained about the irregular disbursal of their monthly fellowship, saying that some of them received it once a year.

"Despite the inflation, No one considers the revision of the fellowships as it's not considered as salary," said Biswaranjan Pradhan, another research scholar, adding that the number of fellowships was being slashed every year.

The students also protested against the outdated research facilities in some of the institutions, especially those run by the state government, and demanded better facilities.

They rued the lack of job opportunities after PhD and postdoctoral studies and alleged that there was no transparency for faculty recruitment both in the state level and nationally.

A student said the neglect of research in the field of science had led to the brain drain to countries in the West. This apathetic attitude towards researchers is forcing new comers to think twice about taking up research as a career, they said.